Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

- Jesus, the Christ -

I was reminded through a homily this morning that the opposites of the peacemakers are not the peace-destroyers or the people who wage war against others. The anti-theses of the peacemakers are the peacekeepers.

What might the difference be between peacemakers and peacekeepers?

Peacemakers are those who acknowledge the necessity of conflict. But together with that, they seek to work things out amidst conflict in order that constructive solutions may be found. They understand that the world is not a perfect place and is fraught with conflict, and that sometimes (if not often) conflict can be a constructive instrument in order to bring positive change to the world and to society. Their sense of peace isn’t a myopic one; it’s a long-sighted peace. They desire to become instruments for ushering in a perpetual era of peace in the human order. The peace they are making isn’t to be found in the present.

Peacekeepers are those who want to avoid trouble at all costs because it brings too much inconvenience to them. They want to avoid rocking the boat and are fixated on maintaining the status quo. They are game for being “revolutionary” only to the extent that it doesn’t cause them trouble. When they sniff trouble from a mile away, they stop trying. The preoccupation of peacekeepers is staying out of trouble. Their desire for peace is self-motivated; they want peace for themselves. They don’t desire peace in the world order as much as they desire peace for themselves. Peacekeepers are selfish.

But peacekeepers have a way of defending themselves: "Such trouble isn't really necessary. Why invite such unnecessary trouble when it can be avoided?" Ironically, the more you observe them, the more you'll realise that peacekeepers almost never ever "invite trouble". Because when trouble is what a person wants to avoid, then no amount of trouble is ever necessary.

Churches comprise of too many peacekeepers and too few peacemakers. Peacekeepers often rise up to become very high-ranking leaders of Christian communities. They are well-loved because they don’t provoke people’s disfavour. They’re crafty communicators and skilful bureaucrats.

As for the peacemakers, Jesus called them “sons of God”. But he wasn’t about to let such ideals remain unscathed by realities of life. Immediately after calling the peacemakers “sons of God”, he talked about those who would be persecuted because of their desire to defend righteousness at all cost. The kingdom of heaven would be theirs - but at a price, obviously. He who came to preach peace himself said, “I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword”. Peacemakers are constantly having to reckon with this paradox of life.

It would seem from the Gospels that Jesus spent much of his effort throughout his public ministry exposing the motivations of the peacekeepers, segregating them from the peacemakers. He saw through the heart. He was such a strange rhetorist. Powerful but strange.